Julian Luxemburg has prepared a dinner for two at his place – but things go awry when the date does not show up and he is left waiting at his dinner table, the clock’s ticking growing unbearably loud. „Dinner Date” is the character portrait of Julian: by becoming his subconsciousness you gain a clear vantage point on the worries which...

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"This game makes a lot of promises that it does NOT keep. Absolutely avoid this."

About This Game

Julian Luxemburg has prepared a dinner for two at his place – but things go awry when the date does not show up and he is left waiting at his dinner table, the clock’s ticking growing unbearably loud.

„Dinner Date” is the character portrait of Julian: by becoming his subconsciousness you gain a clear vantage point on the worries which take a hold of him. As the wait for the beautiful girl grows longer it becomes evident that Julian’s real problems may not even begin originate the girl: what of his work and his boss? And what of the headhunter, his fascination with Byron and his friendship with Jerry who, all things considered, was ultimately the person who pushed Julian to go on this date?

You are not merely listening – in the unprecedented role as his subconsciousness you tap the table, look at the clock and, as Julian bares more of his mind, reluctantly start to eat, your actions resonating with Julian’s thoughts to form an absolutely singular form of intimacy.

In this manner you will experience „Dinner Date”: with some glasses of wine, some bread, some soup - and with a clock which slowly mocks the constant wait for when she comes, this elusive girl who will solve everything.

Key features:

Julian’s story lasts a fully voiced 25 minutes and is told through various unique animations, set in a real-time 3d environment with the unique interface of playing as a subconsciousness, the first of its kind.

The game is complimented by an original score, written by Than van Nispen tot Pannerden.

At the Independent Game Festival 2011, „Dinner Date” has been nominated for the Nuovo award, an award which ‘honors abstract, shortform, and unconventional game development which advances the medium and the way we think about games.’

This game is amazing. If offered me an experience I never had before and I probably never will have. I had so many feelings come over me. I felt the amazing feeling of having a date. I felt the horible feeling of someone not showing up to the date. It simulated real life perfectly. I'm glad I played this game before going on a real life date. If I ever feel lonley in by bedroom in the dark with the blinds closed then I can just play dinner date and feel the sensation of having a date. Then I will feel the depressing feeling of having my date not show up. In conclusion, this game is the best game I have played since Lunch date simulatior. I give this game a 20/10

Watch forever alone Julian Luxemburg eating his meal that comes every time back with the power of Jeannies Magic.This game has a heart breaking story with full of twists. Soon you will ask yourself: "Why am I playing? What where they thinking?" And the story will fully get you. I was shocked when he brutally murdered that slice of bread by dipping it in the sauce until it was drawn. I can hear it scream in my nightmares. But that was only the start. He uses some kind of Magic device to reverse the time and let the slice of bread suffer again and again while he murder him and his Son Bread,his Daughter Bread and his Wife bread. And it goes on, He lightens an innocent Cigarette! And draws all of his life by sucking on it. What is wrong with this guy? Why is he in such a Murder Rampage? Nobody will know! And it ends with an Cliff Hangar, he goes out of his House. What will come next? Will he clomp over innocent sidewalks? Will he buy a donut and eat it while the family of Daddy donut has to watch this? I cannot tell you. But someone who drawn innocent bread is able to do anything!This game needs a second part the next episode should be called "Dinner Date Rampage of Julian Luxemburg" I would recommend this game but the Story about a man who has tortured slice of bread to death is to much for me. So you better play something more innocent with less violence. Maybe Postal 2!

Dinner Date is a first person experience that puts you into someone's subconscious. You'll see what he sees and hear his thoughts as he waits for his date and you'll push keys. The key prompts float in little bubbles that have hints about what they'll do. Different keys do different things. You'll get to pour a glass of wine, look at the clock, check your left hand and gaze at your right hand. There are even such details like putting your spoon into soup, stirring it, put the spoon back down and so on. You'll hear the character talk, basically telling you which of the things to do next.

Going into the game I thought it would be another 'crazy hand simulator' like Surgeon Simulator or Ampu-Tea. Nope, you just press keys to do things when the prompts are up.

You have no control over movement or the camera, just over what the character does as he continues to worry about his date. He will wonder whether to drink another glass of wine and what else he could be doing. The dinner date is a quick experience, over in about 30 minutes. Trying to replay it again didn't lead me to think that there are different outcomes.

Dinner Date has a lot going for it, the voice acting is good, the environment is great, but its just a small kitchen with a table in it. You'll go to the window to have a cigarette, but that's it. This could be the demo of a bigger more detailed game, there is talent here, but I just didn't have fun playing the game. Plus there's not much here to get excited about. Its over quick. If a bobbing camera gets you motion sick, avoid this game.

Here's something to think about when telling a story. If its not the most interesting thing that happens to the character, why aren't you telling the more interesting story? Is it technical limitations such as having characters to interact with? Is this what leads the character up to his suicide or finding his true love after the game has ended? Is it witty banter amongst two characters blended with subconscious thought? No, but maybe that will happen in Dinner Date 2: The Reckoning. I'm sure that Luke Skywalker had moments where he just chilled in his bedroom thinking about a girl. That never made it into Star Wars.

Dinner Date was just watching something while I mash all keys at once since there's no sort of right or wrong. Other narrative experiences like Dear Esther and Gone Home at least give you movement control and environments to explore. Like the plot of Dinner Date, it stands in a category all its own.

Ever found yourself sitting around at home in your kitchen thinking "Boy, I wish I could play a game where I sit around at home in my kitchen whining about being stood up for a date for 25 minutes"? Neither have I.

The protagonist Julian Luxemburg has prepared a dinner for two and is waiting for his date. During the wait you're supposed to listen to him talking about his problems, luckily the game is very short (10 min) so it's not too painful. There are a few interactions like eating cake and drinking wine. I think this little review could be seen as a spoiler because that's basically all there is.

There are some positive things though: The narration is pretty good and the graphics are not bad. Perhaps I would've recommended it if it was free.

Lately, I've been making a habit of trying out games with "Mixed" reviews--often, I find them to be the most interesting. Dinner Date is a game that isn't for everyone; some might not enjoy the concept, others might find it boring. This isn't a game in which the goal is clear, and the end result isn't necessarily what you would call gratifying. There are no bosses to defeat or world to save. To me, this game embodies "virtual reality" in a much more emotional sense.

You are the subconscious of the protagonist, Julian, as he experiences the agony of waiting on his "dinner date" to arrive. This means, you really have no control over what is happening. You can merely observe and react in the most subtle of ways. As the story unfolds before you, you are given a set of choices. Will Julian glance nervously at the clock, have a cigarette to calm his nerves or have another glass of wine as he bemoans his situation? The voiceover acting is very well done, and adds to realism of the game. If you've ever experienced the anxiety of anticipation. and the agony of disappointment, the game expresses both perfectly.

In order to truly enjoy this game, you have to accept the fact that nothing you do will change its outcome. You are merely along for the ride, guiding Julian's thoughts and actions along the way via a growing number of options by pressing specific buttons on your keyboard, which lead to certain interactions. But it's not as if you're sitting there idle while a long cinematic cutscene plays either; it's an experience you can be a part of from start to finish. As Julian's subconscious, you are like the director with Julian as the actor. Considering the options are numerous, and you can choose them in any order you wish, everybody's experience in the game will be slightly different and unique to them, even if the ending is the same. It gives it a very personal feel which I enjoyed. Overall, this is an overlooked and misunderstood little gem of a game.

This "game" is something. I' not sure what I would really call it. If you or a friend is feeling down because you/ your friend don't have a love life then I would recommend this "game". However I would never pay full price if I was just going to play out of pure curiosity.

completion time: 20 minutes

Satisfaction: 3.5 out of 5 stars simply because i can relate to the character in a few ways.

I hope you all have a great day and remember that things can get better in your life but you have to continue to move forward. Also most of the time the player's life is the losers life. Peace

This is not a game. This is more of an experience of a nervous man waiting for his date to come...well...that never shows up. I have to say the experience is pretty good and I feel for this man with his anxiety issues. However, I don't feel this game-err...experience is worth 3 dollars. If it is on sale, it's worth it to try it. Otherwise, wait for the sale to happen and get it.

The game starts you off by telling you you're not playing the character, which is sort of true. You don't control the character in the traditional sense, instead you play a part of his subconcious, you direct where he looks and what draws his attention. You have some minor impulse control in your repetoir as well, but in the end the guy basically just does what he wants anyway... or at least the game forces you to give him what he wants.

You play a 27 year old guy who has just been stood up by the 20 year old japanese girl that one of his mates has set him up with. She's pretty, and flirty, and from what I understood of the games dialogue she's something of a party girl. As the story progresses you learn a great deal about the young man you're almost controlling, but on the whole thats about all you do.

There are few choices offered to you by the game. You get to control where the young man looks, which things draw his attention, and which inconsequential actions he peforms; from staring at the clock to eating a piece of bread or smoking. The game progresses down the same path every time. I'm guessing that eventually, if you try to refrain from eating bread or soup, the game will force you to do so as some of the dialogue comments on the things you're eating. I plan to explore this game further.

On the whole this game really isn't worth it. It's an interesting concept, and the voice acting is interesting... but if you have to miss an out there indie game this year, this is the one to miss.

This game is bad. It fails in pretty much everything it does. A story driven game and the voice acting is bad and muffled, you can't hear it even at max volume. The graphics are fine, nothing to talk about, they're average, OK, fine, mediocre. It tells you how to use the hand, but from the eight minutes I could bare to play, I never used the hand once and just mashed buttons to turn his head slightly, drink wine or eat bread.

Don't bother buying this game, unless you get it gifted, but if you do get it gifted send it back to that person with the message "No Chance."

I just... no. I can't recommend this. It's not that it's bad, it's that it's as stale as the left-over bread at the end of a failed dinner date.

I'm sure you can make the justification that this is art, expressing the tedium and anguish that comes with an uncertain future, but you have to have some initial investment in the situation to really get that feeling. It's why when someone dies in the first five minutes of a movie, we don't really care nearly as much as when they die right at the end. It makes it hard to care. Sure, the voice acting's alright. The game does a decent job conveying what it's like to be stood up, and it's short, to the point, but I just can't recommend it.

Just a failed experiment in game design. Basically you don't do anything at all, just listen to the main character's thoughts, pressing a button occasionally. Reminds of the equally bad Thirty Flights of Loving.

Possibly the dryest 'game' I've ever played. You sit at a table waiting for your date to show up, (SPOILERS) she never shows up. The game lures you into thinking it's going to be like surgeon simulator, explaining hand controls using 'q w e r' for the movement of each finger, and 'g' for the thumb. You are then disappointingly backhanded when you instead are greeted with the option to press various keys in order to perform movements/action, all with the aim to waste enough time for more key options to become available, each duller than the last - This functionality saps any potential morsel of comedy, unlike an actual 'key per finger' style, where there are morsels to be found.

First, you are limited to tapping your fingers on the table, and looking up at the clock. Then it really gets crazy when the option to eat some bread appears. From thereout you will continue to pointlessly press buttons and observe the mundane animation. My favorite part has to be where you are granted the option to dip your bread into the soup you've been stirring for 10 minutes.

The game ends when your character staggers out of the apartment after a few glasses of wine, presumably to perform some kind of aggressive crime against the elusive date. This means you basically miss the most exciting part of the protagonists evening.

1/10. There is no challenge, no excitement, and no respite from the ball-achingly dull key tapping. Only play this game if someone has a gun to your head.

So, not quite what i think the game was about.The game have no story interaction control whatsoever no mater what you do. You only can control some involuntary movements but the (boring esixtenzial) story always repeat itself.

Sure is a nice "piece of useless art" but is nothing like a game. Is more like a first person movie where you have a realy limited interaction.

Maybe - and just maybe - a similar concept could work well with an oculus rift